He stood six feet four inches tall, spoke seven languages, rode solo across frozen Russian steppes, and died with a lance through his chest at the Battle of Abu Klea. Colonel Fred Burnaby was not a man who did things quietly. A decorated officer of the Royal Horse Guards, a celebrated balloonist, a war correspondent, a political firebrand, and one of the most physically imposing figures of the Victorian age, Burnaby lived with the throttle wide open from the moment he drew breath to the mo...

‘I would like to share with you what I saw.’The old international order is over, and a competition is underway to determine what comes next. Inflection Point is an insider account of how the Biden administration handled global crises and what is to come under Trump and beyond. Written by a senior member of President Biden’s National Security Council, this book argues there are now two Americas – one internationalist and the other America First – that will compete with each...

A riveting account of how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the world order and exposed deep vulnerabilities in the international system.Aftershocks offers a comprehensive look at one of the most consequential years on record. Drawing on interviews with officials from around the world and extensive research, Colin Kahl and Thomas Wright tell the story of how nationalism and major power rivalries constrained the response to the worst pandemic in a century. The...

For Wilde, as for many people, reading could be as powerful and transformative an experience as falling in love. He devoured books, talked books, luxuriated in books and lavished books on his friends- they played, too, a vital part in his seductions of young men.Oscar's Books tells the story of Wilde's life through his reading, from his childhood in Dublin, where he was nurtured on Celtic myth, Romantic poetry and Irish folklore; through his undergraduate years in which he...

Sam Digby is a typical fifteen-year-old boy who spends his days playing video games and goofing off with his friends. But when Sams dad enrolls him in karate class, everything changes. His social agenda is messed up, and, worse, he gets the feeling hes being watched. When Sam overhears a mysterious conversation that refers to him in a way he doesnt understand, he immediately goes to his best friend, Zach. Much to Sams surprise, Zachsomeone hes known his whole lifereveals himself as someone...

According to Wikipedia: "Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS (19 March 1821 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian, and African languages. Burton's best-known achievements include trave...

The stories of the men and women who dug for gold on Williams Creek are told in this revised and updated edition of a Canadian bestseller.The legendary town of Barkerville is flourishing today, just as it did more than 150 years ago, but this time under the care of professional and amateur historians. Richard Thomas Wright peels back the pages of history as he unearths the area’s history and chronicles the fortunes and the follies of gold-rush-era Barkerville. The result of years o...

Loved and hated in equal measure, London was for centuries the world's greatest city. Its streets, teeming with history, have always worn a variety of influences, reflecting the diverse crowds who have walked them. Its citizens have witnessed everything from pilgrimages, celebrations, acts of heroism and moments of religious contemplation to riots, executions, grisly murders and disastrous plagues and fires. Drawing on letters, diaries and memoirs of London's most interesting inhabitants a...

Fifteen years have elapsed since the death of Sir Richard Burton and twelve since the appearance of the biography of Lady Burton. A deeply pathetic interest attaches itself to that book. Lady Burton was stricken down with an incurable disease. Death with its icy breath hung over her as her pen flew along the paper, and the questions constantly on her lips were "Shall I live to complete my task? Shall I live to tell the world how great and noble a man my husband was, and to refute the calum...

"What I am really anxious to hear is the final cause of your monstrous fiction. For your false invention seems to have no purpose. What reason can you give me for the circulation of the blood?"William Harvey's theory of circulation was as controversial in its day as Copernicus' idea that the earth revolved around the sun. Unleashing intellectual anarchy, derailing established ideas, & gaining currency far beyond the walls of the College of Physicians, Harvey's revolutionar...

**This program includes a bonus conversation with the authors.NAMED A BEST NEW POLITICAL AUDIOBOOK BY VARIETY IN 2021Two of America's leading national security experts offer a definitive account of the global impact of COVID-19 and the political shock waves it will have on the United States and the world order in the 21st Century.**“Informed by history, reporting, and a truly global perspective, this is an indispensable first draft of history and blueprint for how w...

In "A History of Caricature and Grotesque in Literature and Art," Thomas Wright presents a thorough exploration of the interplay between satire and artistic expression from the medieval period to the Victorian era. Wright's literary style intertwines meticulous historical analysis with vivid descriptions, enabling readers to appreciate the evolution of caricature and its societal implications. The book navigates through significant artistic movements, revealing how grotesque imagery served...